Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bianca, one of the volunteers who serves during our Friday Pancake Breakfast at Christ’s Body Ministries. She has been volunteering with us for about four months, but her connection to this place began long before she started wearing gloves and helping serve breakfast.

Not too many years ago, Bianca was experiencing homelessness and struggling with drug addiction. She remembers living behind dumpsters and coming to Christ’s Body in the mornings for something to eat. On Fridays, that meant a plate of pancakes and people who treated her with kindness.

“They used to serve me pancakes when I was homeless,” she told me. “I came here in the mornings, and they treated me very well.”

Those mornings stayed with her.

Bianca has now been sober and out of homelessness for four and a half years. As her life began to change, she never forgot the place that welcomed her during one of the hardest seasons of her life. She remembered the food, but even more than that, she remembered how she was treated.

Eventually, she decided it was time to come back.

Today, Bianca volunteers on Friday mornings during the same Pancake Breakfast that once served her. She works alongside our team, welcomes guests and sees some people she knows personally. She understands what it feels like to walk through our doors needing help because she has lived it herself.

When I asked her why she volunteers, her answer was simple: “Because I love these people. I once was one of them not too long ago, and I know a few of them personally. I just love them. And I love Jesus, of course.”

That is what makes Bianca’s story so meaningful. She did not come back because she forgot where she had been. She came back because she remembered.

Every Friday morning, another person may walk through our doors carrying the same kind of pain Bianca once carried. They may be hungry, exhausted, struggling with addiction or sleeping somewhere no one should have to sleep. A plate of pancakes will not solve every problem they face, but it can be the beginning of something. It can show someone that they are seen, valued and worth caring for.

Bianca is living proof that we do not always know what God may do with a simple meal, a kind word or a place where someone is treated with dignity.

Today, the woman who once came here for pancakes is helping serve them. She is sober, no longer homeless and giving back to people whose stories feel familiar to her. Her presence reminds our guests that change is possible and reminds the rest of us why showing up matters.

We are grateful for Bianca and for every volunteer who helps make Christ’s Body a place people remember from both their hearts and their minds. If you would like to serve alongside people like Bianca, we would love to help you find your place at Christ’s Body Ministries.